Window panes or glass panels having two or more panes of glass separated by insulating air spaces are well known in the art. Typically adjacent glass panes are separated by a peripheral frame constructed from tubular spacer sections joined together at adjacent ends. To form a corner of the frame, adjacent spacer sections are connected by a connector to seal the spacer sections from condensable ambient moisture, and to position the spacer sections in the desired relative angular configuration. Typically, the connectors have first and second arms that are insertable into adjacent tubular spacer sections. The first and second arms of conventional rigid connectors, for use in rectangular windows, are configured to form a right angle.
Flexible connectors have also been developed that include first and second arm portions joined by a flexible hinge portion. This type of conventional connector enables adjacent frame sections to be connected linearly. The connected sections are then pivoted relative to each other into the desired angular configuration, flexing the connector at the hinge. In order to secure the sections in this configuration, conventional flexible connectors typically include mating portions on each arm of the connector that are engaged when the connector is flexed to the desired angular configuration.
One such conventional flexible connector is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,205 to Berdan. The connector includes opposing interlocking fins formed on each arm portion. The flexed connector is maintained in position by frictional engagement of the fins. This type of flexible connector has proved to be unsatisfactory for use with large frames because the stresses imparted on the connector by the frame sections overcome the frictional resistance to separation of the connector from the flexed configuration.
Other flexible connectors have been developed that overcome the problem of inadvertent connector separation by including opposing locking portions on the first and second arms of the connectors. The locking portions are snapped together when the connector is flexed. While this type of conventional connector does remain securely in a flexed configuration, the connector cannot be separated to the straightened configuration without the use of excessive force or destruction of the engaging locking portions. Straightening of a flexed connector may be required during manufacture, or to repair leaking spacer frames in windows in which condensed moisture has formed.